Add Category
A teenager intentionally hit her sister's partner with her car, which resulted in the man having his leg amputated at the knee, a Tasmanian court has heard.
Amali De Jonge, 19, has pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm after driving into Brent Cruse, 24, in Cressy, northern Tasmania, in November last year.
A victim impact statement from Mr Cruse was read out by the prosecutor during Friday's hearing at the Launceston Supreme Court.
"My life changed when I was hit by Amali De Jonge with her car," he wrote.
"When I looked down, I saw my foot was completely crushed.
"While lying on the grass waiting for the ambulance I thought I was going to die."
He said the loss of his leg would impact him financially, as he was working as a labourer before the crash.
He can also no longer use his car, as it had manual transmission, and would now rely on Centrelink payments.
"I was a very active person before this happened to me," he wrote.
"It's been very challenging and it's going to be a long journey."
'Aggressive snapchats' led to rash decision
The court heard De Jonge had been close to her sister before the crash.
Defence lawyer Lucy Flanagan said in the lead-up to the incident, De Jonge's sister had complained to De Jonge about an argument where her partner had been "aggressive".
Ms Flanagan said there was no accusations of abuse.
The court heard De Jonge confronted Mr Cruse at the time about the alleged mistreatment of her sister.
The prosecutor said there was also an incident where the tail light of Mr Cruse's car was smashed.
Ms Flanagan said these events led to Mr Cruse's brother sending "a serious of aggressive snapchats" to De Jonge's partner.
She said De Jonge was aware of the messages, and so when she saw Mr Cruse and his brother driving in Cressy she made a "panicked" decision to follow them.
"She was of the belief they were going to her partner's house to cause some harm," Ms Flanagan said.
The prosecutor read a statement from Mr Cruse's brother, where he said they went to De Jonge's boyfriend's house to ask for his thoughts on how to resolve the conflict.
The brother's statement said De Jonge sped towards them, and when they opened their car doors to get out of the vehicle, she drove "straight into Brent".
Ms Flanagan said when police asked De Jonge how the crash happened, she readily admitted she was responsible.
Ms Flanagan also said De Jonge's friend was responsible for the smashing of the tail light, although De Jonge was present at the time and did not intervene.
Defence says De Jonge remorseful
Ms Flanagan asked Magistrate Tamara Jago to take into account De Jonge's circumstances at the time of the incident, including the relationship between her and Mr Cruse.
"You have before you an extremely young person with essentially no criminal history except for a traffic infringement," she argued.
"She has accepted responsibility from the first moment she was given to do so.
She said De Jonge was 18 at the time and genuinely remorseful.
The judge was provided a character reference letter from De Jonge's employer, who is also her landlord.
Several of De Jonge's family members, including her parents, were present for the hearing on Friday.
Justice Tamara Jago said she accepted the early plea, the impact on the family and De Jonge's young age, but was not convinced the relationship between the pair mattered.
"It's about as reckless as I can imagine," Justice Jago said.
"She drove a motor vehicle into her brother-in-law because she overreacted."
Justice Jago said she would consider a request from Ms Flanagan for home detention as opposed to a prison sentence.
"I honestly don't know what I'm going to do in respect to this matter yet," Justice Jago said.
She said it was "probably more serious" than home detention, and there was "a very reasonable prospect" De Jonge would spend time in prison.
The matter has been adjourned until next month.
Loading...